This invention relates to a shower head which can spray water in various spray modes.
Conventionally, a shower head having a pistol-shaped nozzle body is known, having a handgrip with a connector for connection to a hose. A flow control valve in the body is opened and closed by operating a handle provided in the grip of the shower head.
Such shower head is proposed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2-14765. The shower head has various kinds of nozzles for providing various spray modes. As shown in FIG. 18, a shower head 300 has inside a cylindrical selector 304 having a side opening 306 communicating to a water supply source. The selector 304 is engaged with a threaded portion 302 provided in the shower head 300. By rotating the shower head 300, the selector 304 can be slid forward or backward. According to the position of the selector 304 in the shower head 300, the kinds of nozzles for discharging water are changed. Specifically, the opening 306 is moved to the position communicating with a desired nozzle. Water is supplied from the selector 304 to the desired nozzle for discharging water in the desired spray mode.
The shower head 300 has a relatively large central nozzle 308 for discharging a jet of water. Since the central nozzle 308 is always open, dust or other foreign particles easily enters the nozzle 308 when no water is discharged from the nozzle 308 or when water is discharged from other nozzles. If the selector 304 is slid with dust entering the shower head 300, dust is caught between the inner wall of the shower head 300 and the side face of the selector 304. As a result the selector 304 may be scratched or hindered in its operation, thereby causing troublesome damage to the shower head 300.